


Just The Way You Are

by ArcticLights



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Confessions gone wrong, Kyoutani Ganbatte, Kyoutani likes to sing, M/M, Misunderstandings, No Beta, Seijoh second years as third years, Songfic, Watari is so done, Yahaba sucks at English
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-18 11:44:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8161006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcticLights/pseuds/ArcticLights
Summary: Kyoutani had picked up the habit of singing at practice, but stopped after his singing didn't go as planned one time.





	

**Author's Note:**

> KYOUTANI I'M SORRY!
> 
> This was supposed to be fluff. It really was, and this thing spiraled straight down the angst hole.
> 
> I don't know how it happened, I blame my brain gremlin.
> 
> My beta is on hiatus to prepare for NaNoWriMo and I'm excited to see what she's gonna do. So I'm not gonna have her beta this, hopefully it isn't too messed up lol
> 
> EDIT: Okay so apparently this didn't come across clearly in the way I wrote this: English is a language these boys learn in school. All parties should have a relative grasp on the language by the time they are this age.

Yahaba was now third year and captain of the Aoba Josai boy’s volleyball team. They had a new set of first years who looked promising, including a setter and a very tall libero they could train up to take his and Watari’s places after they graduated. At first the first years were all nervous and a bit scared of the team’s current ace, Kyoutani, but after an incident at practice they all seemed to lighten up.

 

Kyoutani started to sing.

 

Yahaba didn’t know when it had started, but Kyoutani was singing to himself as he was practicing serves. It was almost as if he didn’t realize he had been singing, because when the first years asked him about the song he froze in place. He was singing Seven Seas of Rhye by Queen. The first years stared at him in awe because he was so adept at English that he was he had been singing American rock songs.

 

This seemed to break the ice between the ace and his kouhai because now Kyoutani was smiling more and talking to them all about music. Kyoutani often worked with each of the first years at varying points during their practices and both Yahaba and Watari were amazed at how such a simple subject like music had brought Kyoutani out of his shell.

 

One Tuesday after practice Yahaba and Kyoutani were working on their combos after everyone had left because the first years had taken up so much time that they hadn’t been able to work together much. After they got enough good reps in that they felt satisfied they started to clean up. Instead of working in silence Yahaba tried to make small talk.

 

“I didn’t know you could sing.”

 

Kyoutani blushed a little and said, “It’s more that I just enjoy it. I don’t think I’m particularly good, but it has made learning English a lot easier.”

 

Yahaba laughed a little.

 

“Looks like it makes you a bit less scary, too.”

 

Kyoutani frowned.

 

“It’s not like I try to be scary you know. They just automatically run away from me before I even have a chance to talk.”

 

Yahaba nudged him in the side.

 

“If you’d been like this last year we probably would’ve become friends sooner you know. We’re here by ourselves right now… how about you sing me a song?”

 

Kyoutani’s face turned a brilliant shade of red and Yahaba laughed. Kyoutani then cleared his throat.

 

“Alright, I have one I guess I could sing,” he said, then started to sing a song in near-perfect English.

 

_“Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shining. Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her trying. She's so beautiful, and I tell her everyday.”_

 

Yahaba stared at Kyoutani in awe as he continued.

 

_“Yeah, I know, I know when I compliment her, she won't believe me. And it's so, it's so sad to think that she doesn't see what I see. But every time she asks me do I look okay? I say…”_

_“When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change. 'Cause you're amazing just the way you are.”_

_“And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while. 'Cause girl, you're amazing, just the way you are.”_

 

Kyoutani beamed at Yahaba before he continued.

 

_“Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she'd let me. Her laugh, her laugh, she hates but I think it's so sexy. She's so beautiful, and I tell her everyday.”_

_“Oh, you know, you know, you know I'd never ask you to change. If perfect's what you're searching for, then just stay the same. So don't even bother asking if you look okay, you know I'll say…”_

_“When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change. 'Cause you're amazing, just the way you are.”_

_“And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while. 'Cause girl, you're amazing, just the way you are.”_

_“The way you are… The way you are… Girl, you're amazing, just the way you are.”_

_“When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change. 'Cause you're amazing just the way you are.”_

_“And when you smile… The whole world stops and stares for a while. 'Cause girl, you're amazing, just the way you are. Yeah…”_

 

Kyoutani blushed and scratched the back of his head.

 

“So, what do you think?”

 

Yahaba flushed red and managed to stammer out, “Your voice sounds really nice…”

 

Kyoutani’s face fell. He looked down at the ground and said, “I… uh… I kinda forgot something I had to do. Sorry, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kyoutani turned around and rushed to the clubroom.

 

Watari had forgotten his bag in the gym and heard the exchange as he went back to get it. Kyoutani was red faced as he ran past Watari and seemed to not even notice him. Watari had understood most of the song, so he abruptly stormed into the gym and approached Yahaba.

 

“What do you mean _‘Your voice sounds really nice…’_?”

 

Yahaba jumped at the unexpected presence of his best friend.

 

“You heard that? And why wouldn’t I tell him his voice sounded nice? He’s a good singer!”

 

Watari pinched the bridge of his nose and furrowed his eyebrows.

 

“Dude, did you even understand what he was saying?”

 

Yahaba quirked his head to the side.

 

“Watari, you know my grades in English are shit. The only words I really understood were smile, kiss, and sexy.”

 

Watari sighed, “Well, your shit grades in English just really fucked things up for you.”

 

\---

 

The next day Kyoutani was avoiding Yahaba like the plague. He didn’t meet up with Yahaba and Watari for lunch, and he focused on working with Ito Yori, the first year setter, instead of Yahaba the entire practice.

 

Whenever Yahaba tried to get it so they could work together Kyoutani went off to focus on another drill, and the tension between the two was palpable. There was also something missing, but Yahaba couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

 

This continued into practice on Thursday and the new libero, Yamazaki Hachiro, approached Yahaba.

 

“Uh, Yahaba-senpai?”

 

“Yes, Yamazaki-kun? What’s up?”

 

The first year stared at the ground and started shifting his feet.

 

“I think there’s something wrong with Kyoutani-senpai.”

 

Yahaba hummed in agreement and asked, “Why do you think that?”

 

“Well, he stopped singing. He didn’t sing at all yesterday and he hasn’t sang today yet either…”

 

That’s what it was. The lighthearted mood that was created when Kyoutani sang was gone. Yahaba hadn’t realized how much of a difference it made in their everyday practices, but it was something that you wouldn’t notice until it was gone. Yahaba thanked the first year for expressing his concern and approached Kyoutani.

 

Kyoutani was observing as Ito was setting for Kindaichi. Kyoutani’s face lacked the usual smile that had been there for the past couple months and it seemed to be making his kouhai nervous. After they messed up a quick Kyoutani opened his mouth to give some advice, but nearly jumped out of his skin when a firm hand grabbed his shoulder.

 

“Hey,” said Yahaba. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

 

Kyoutani looked over at Yahaba then frowned. He gave an affirmative grunt and they both walked outside. Kyoutani followed Yahaba until they were a good distance from the door, then Yahaba turned around.

 

“Hey, are you okay?”

 

Kyoutani looked at him in disbelief.

 

“Uh, I guess as okay as I’m gonna be for now? I’ll get better with time.”

 

“Well, the first years are getting worried about you. And we all kinda miss your singing, so we hope it comes back soon.”

 

Yahaba smiled at Kyoutani and patted his shoulder as he walked past him to go back to the gym. Kyoutani balled his hands into fists and stared at the ground.

 

“I’m gonna be another minute…”

 

Yahaba didn’t even turn around and waved his hand in the air.

 

“That’s fine, take as much time as you need,” he said lightheartedly, then walked back into the gym.

 

Kyoutani walked over to the wall, leaned his back against it, and slid to the ground.

 

“Only the first years are worried, huh?” he sighed out and placed his head on his knees. After a few minutes of trying to regain his composure he gave up. He walked over to the clubroom, got changed, and walked out the gate.

 

\---

 

Watari was on the court practicing receives while Kunimi served. He saw Kyoutani leaving through the open gym doors and raised his eyebrows. He excused himself and went over to Yahaba.

 

“Dude, what exactly did you and Kyoutani talk about?”

 

Yahaba looked over his shoulder at his friend.

 

“Hmm? I asked him how he was. He said he was fine, but I let him know the first years were worried and that we all wanted his singing to come back. Why?”

 

Watari rubbed his temples.

 

“Oh my god, are you a fucking idiot? Kyoutani just _left_ you know.”

 

Yahaba’s face twisted into frustration and anger.

 

“HE LEFT?!”

 

The rest of the team startled and stared at their captain. Watari glared up at Yahaba.

 

“YOU of all people have no right to be mad right now. You don’t even realize what you’ve done. Have you even tried to figure out what that song from the other day even meant?”

 

“What it meant? It was a song he sang in English, I couldn’t even understand most of the words.”

 

Watari sighed and rubbed his hands over his face.

 

“Yahaba I have no fucking idea what to do with you, but I suggest you don’t talk to Kyoutani for a while. You need to take some time to figure out what that song meant and give him some space.”

 

Yahaba stared at his friend with a questioning look.

 

“How am I supposed to figure out what the song meant if I don’t even know what the song was? I don’t listen to American music.”

 

“I’m a bit frustrated with you, so I’m gonna make you work for your answer. The singer’s name has something to do with planets. Kasei in particular. You better figure this out and fix it soon.” Watari stormed off, leaving a very confused Yahaba in his wake.

 

\---

 

The next day Kyoutani was back at practice, pointedly ignoring Yahaba like he was doing last year. The scowl was back on his face and he was focusing on practicing his serves on his own to the side. The first years decided to leave him alone, since the last time someone tried to talk to him he left practice altogether.

 

Yahaba walked up to Watari and put his hands on his hips.

 

“I tried looking up Kasei and song together and the only thing that came up was this article about something called ‘Curiosity’ singing happy birthday to itself once a year. What kind of hint were you giving me? I mean seriously. What kind of American has a name like Kasei?”

 

Watari looked at his friend in disbelief.

 

“Yahaba, I wanted to think you were a smart individual… but you are greatly disappointing me.”

 

“Excuse you, but you aren’t giving me a whole lot to work with and Kyoutani is turning into the person he was last year. I don’t want this to continue. I’ll give him until tomorrow since you told me to give him space but I swear I will throw him against a wall again if that’s what it takes,” then he stormed off.

 

The tension between all of the third years was resonating amongst the rest of the team. The first years stayed away from all of the third years and the second years did their best to act as a buffer between Watari and Yahaba. Kindaichi paired up with Yahaba to work on their quicks and Kunimi asked Watari to receive his serves. Nothing was resolved between the three before the end of practice and they all went their separate ways after practice ended.

 

\---

 

The next morning was the start of their all-day Saturday practice. Kyoutani went early to change before anyone else got there, then waited by the doors for Yahaba to open the gym. Watari was the first to get there after him and joined him on the steps to the gym.

 

“Hey, you holding up ok?”

 

Kyoutani sighed and rubbed his face.

 

“Right now, not really. I thought for sure that things would work out because we were getting along so well, but I guess that was him just being fake with me too.”

 

Watari placed a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Just give it some time. Things will work out soon, I promise.”

 

Kyoutani raised his eyebrow, but before he could ask what Watari meant Yahaba rounded the corner. He walked up to the doors and unlocked them, then the three of them went to go set up the equipment. They worked together in silence as the rest of the team filtered into the gym. After everything was set up everyone did their stretches and got ready to start doing drills.

 

Although his smile didn’t reappear Kyoutani made an effort to try to work with Ito and Yamazaki. Unfortunately, his pent up frustration was showing and he wasn’t hitting the ball as cleanly as he usually does. After multiple apologies to his kouhai he left to take a water break.

 

He refilled his water bottle and stood near the fountain as he took a drink, so that he could refill it when he was done. Yahaba walked up behind Kyoutani and placed a hand on his shoulder. Kyoutani startled and looked to see who had grabbed him and a frown fell on his face upon seeing Yahaba.

 

“What do you want?”

 

Yahaba crossed his arms over his chest.

 

“What has been your problem lately?”

 

Kyoutani stared at him in disbelief.

 

“Are you _serious_?”

 

“Of course I’m serious. You have been reverting back to your old anti-social self and I’m getting sick of it.”

 

Kyoutani huffed at Yahaba and tried to walk away when Yahaba suddenly grabbed him by the shirt and threw him against the wall. The noise scared the first years and Watari started running towards the pair.

 

“HEY! I’m talking to you,” Yahaba snarled.

 

Kyoutani ducked his head and avoided Yahaba’s eyes. Yahaba pulled him forward and threw him back against the wall.

 

“I said I’m talking to you!”

 

Kyoutani gritted his teeth and faced Yahaba. His eyes were welling with tears as he snapped back at Yahaba.

 

“JUST LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!”

 

Yahaba was so shocked by Kyoutani’s reaction that he loosened his grip on Kyoutani’s shirt. Kyoutani pushed Yahaba’s arms away and ran out of the gym, not even bothering to grab his bag. As Kyoutani made it out the door Watari ran up to Yahaba and slapped him across the face.

 

“I AM SO DONE WITH YOUR BULLSHIT YAHABA!”

 

Yahaba put his hand over his stinging cheek and glared at Watari.

 

“What the fuck was that for?”

 

“You are so… _ugh_ , I can’t even find the words to describe how infuriated I am with you right now. Kyoutani is my friend too and I am not gonna sit here and let you do this to him. The song is called ‘Just the Way You Are’ and it’s by Bruno Mars. Go home and figure this shit out for yourself.”

 

Watari turned to the rest of the team.

 

“I’m calling off practice for today because our captain can’t seem to get his head out of his ass.” Then grabbed his and Kyoutani’s bags and stormed out of the gym.

 

Yahaba leaned against the wall and slid to the ground. He pulled his legs to his chest and placed his head on his knees with a heavy sigh. The first years looked nervously amongst themselves, then Kindaichi and Kunimi started leading the clean-up of the gym. After all of the equipment was put away they left Yahaba alone to lock up after he regained his composure.

 

\---

 

Yahaba spent all of Sunday morning translating the song. Once he discovered the meaning behind the words he lay in his bed reflecting on his interactions between himself and Kyoutani that whole week.

 

_Oh my god, I was such an asshole._

 

Yahaba turned over in his bed and grabbed his phone. He pulled up his messaging app and sent a text to Watari.

 

**13:31 To Watari:**

_I fucked up._

 

**13:32 From Watari:**

_No shit Sherlock. And unless you fix this you can count on neither of us being your friends after this._

 

Yahaba groaned and buried his face in his pillow. His older sister, Kana, knocked on his door.

 

“Go away,” Yahaba mumbled into his pillow. She opened the door and began to chastise her brother.

 

“Just because it’s a day off from school doesn’t mean you can coop yourself up in your room all day.” Then she saw him face first in his pillow and not moving. “What the hell crawled up your ass and made you miserable?”

 

Yahaba looked up at his sister and scowled.

 

“Why should I tell you?”

 

Kana crossed her arms over her chest, “Because I’m your sister and I know when something’s wrong. What did you fuck up this time?”

 

Yahaba sighed in resignation. He sat up on his bed and Kana sat down next to him. He looked at the ground and twisted his hands together.

 

“One of my friends confessed to me…”

 

“Ooooo, and?”

 

“I didn’t realize it was a confession, and I hurt him.”

 

Kana smacked him on the back of the head.

 

“Are you a fucking idiot?”

 

Yahaba rubbed the now sore spot on the back of his head. He looked up at his sister and asked, “How am I supposed to react to a guy confessing to me though?”

 

“Oh please, Shigeru. The entire family knows you are as gay as a glittery, rainbow colored piece of unicorn shit. I didn’t think you were as dumb as a pile of one though.”

 

“I am _not_ stupid as shit.”

 

Kana shrugged.

 

“Coulda fooled me.”

 

Yahaba grabbed a pillow and threw it at his sister and they both started laughing. After they both overcame their fits of laughter Kana put a hand on Yahaba’s shoulder.

 

“So, what do you think of this guy?”

 

Yahaba blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

 

“Honestly, after thinking about it I really like the idea of us being together… but I don’t think that can happen anymore. I've unintentionally been an ass about his feelings all week, and yesterday I made him cry.”

 

Kana sighed.

 

“You made him _cry?_ That’s low, even for you.”

 

Yahaba ran his hands over his face.

 

“Don’t remind me. I have to try to both make it up to him and also get it through to him that I feel the same way.”

 

“Men are usually pretty easy. Try getting him some of his favorite food and apologize that way.”

 

Yahaba looked at her in disbelief.

 

“Is that why you always treat me to ikura don when we have a fight?”

 

Kana’s face turned into a sinister smile.

 

“It works, doesn’t it?” then she started laughing.

 

\---

 

The next day Yahaba stopped by the convenience store on the way into school and grabbed a container of Kara-Age Kun. He wrote a quick note on a piece of paper asking Kyoutani to meet him behind the gym after school and put both items in Kyoutani’s shoe locker. It was Monday so there was no practice and Yahaba spent the whole day wondering if Kyoutani would meet him behind the gym.

 

After the last bell rang Yahaba left the classroom at a full sprint. He ran straight for the gym and waited behind the building. He placed his bag on the ground then leaned against the wall and waited.

 

Five minutes...

 

Ten minutes…

 

Twenty minutes…

 

Yahaba sighed and his heart sank. He bent over to grab his bag when he heard footsteps behind him. He immediately straightened back up and looked in the direction of the sound. Kyoutani stood there looking at Yahaba with an uncertain look on his face. A soft smile fell on Yahaba’s face.

 

“You came.”

 

Kyoutani looked to the ground and muttered, “Yeah…”

 

Yahaba started walking towards Kyoutani and Kyoutani’s shoulders tensed up. Yahaba put his hands up and stopped walking.

 

“I want to talk, but it’s something I need to say to your face. Is that okay?”

 

Kyoutani relaxed his shoulders and gave a small nod, not looking up from the ground. Yahaba walked up to him stopping a couple feet in front of Kyoutani.

 

“First of all, I’m sorry.”

 

Kyoutani snapped his head up at Yahaba’s apology. Yahaba blushed a little and continued.

 

“This is all my fault. I didn’t understand the song you sang, at all. My English is shit and I only understood like three words the whole time. But I also didn’t try to talk to you about it afterwards when things between us changed…”

 

Yahaba looked down at the ground.

 

“I don’t know if Watari told you or not, but he hit me after what happened on Saturday. I deserved it. I didn’t mean to make you cry, I promise.”

 

Both boys blushed a little harder and Yahaba brought his face up to look Kyoutani in the eye.

 

“Watari told me the name and artist for the song you sang. I spent the entire morning yesterday translating it, then the entire afternoon trying to figure out how to do this…”

 

Yahaba swallowed the lump in his throat and continued

 

“I don’t even know where to start because I don’t even know how to make things up to you. I have been an ass all week because I didn’t know what the song meant, but now I know what it means and I feel _awful_ because I didn’t react the way I would have if I had known and-“

 

Kyoutani cut Yahaba off by placing a hand on his cheek and pulling him in for a kiss. Yahaba’s eyes went wide then slid shut as he wrapped his arms behind Kyoutani’s head and returned the kiss eagerly. The boys only separated when they needed to come up for air.

 

Kyoutani smiled at Yahaba.

 

“Well, I guess that’s one way I can shut you up.”

 

Yahaba laughed.

 

“Maybe I should keep talking if that’s how you’re always gonna do it.” Then he placed his forehead on Kyoutani’s shoulder.

 

“I’m really sorry. I honestly didn’t mean to be an ass this whole time. I like you Kyoutani, I really do and I’m _so sorry_ for making you go through that.”

 

Kyoutani rubbed Yahaba’s back and pulled him close.

 

“Yeah… I like you, too. Seems you finally fucking figured that out.”

 

“GOD! IT’S ABOUT FUCKING TIME YOU TWO!”

 

Both Kyoutani and Yahaba jumped at the shout. Watari had just turned the corner to come behind the gym.

 

“I swear to god, you both have been so damn thirsty for each other since last year. I was getting sick of watching you two and was so close to locking you both in a storage closet and blasting Marvin Gaye. I guess that would have been pointless though considering Yahaba wouldn’t have understood it at all and that’s what caused this whole problem to begin with.”

 

Kyoutani blushed and Yahaba frowned.

 

“Drag me why don’t you.”

 

Watari glared at Yahaba.

 

“You’re damn right I’m gonna drag you. Can we finally have practice go back to normal now that you two have more than made up? Please?”

 

Kyoutani laughed.

 

“I suppose we can. I wonder what songs I should sing this week. Maybe ones in English just to confuse the captain.”

 

Yahaba glared at Kyoutani.

 

“Really? Already? We literally just got together not even 5 minutes ago.”

 

“Consider it you making it up to me for the past week.”

 

Yahaba groaned and the other two laughed. They all went home and when practice started the next day the atmosphere between them was back to normal. Kyoutani was humming in the clubroom as the team got ready and the first years were practically vibrating with excitement.

 

After they all stretched and practice Kyoutani started to sing like he used to. This time he was singing ‘You’re Still the One’ by Shania Twain and Watari rolled his eyes. Yahaba was pouting and glaring at Kyoutani because he couldn’t understand the song at all and Kyoutani laughed.

 

“If you want to understand what I’m singing so bad then get better at English. I can help tutor you,” he said with a wink.

 

Yahaba sputtered and wasn’t paying attention. Kindaichi was practicing serves on the same court and before he could yell out his serve hit Yahaba in the face. Yahaba fell on his back and was a bit dazed and Kyoutani was immediately at his side.

 

“Yahaba! Are you ok?”

 

He pulled Yahaba’s head into his lap and started running his fingers through his hair. Kindaichi was panicking and kneeling at Yahaba’s side.

 

“Yahaba-senpai! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hit you!”

 

“It’s okay Kindaichi, I’ll be fine,” Yahaba said as he snuggled into Kyoutani’s lap and Kyoutani blushed.

 

“Oh my god, we are at practice. Leave that shit for your private times at home you two,” said an increasingly exacerbated Watari.

 

Yahaba’s eyes shot open and he quickly sat up. The blush went from his face all the way down his neck.

 

Kunimi sighed, “It’s about fucking time.”

 

Kindaichi started stammering, “You mean they’re _together_?”

 

The first years were pointedly ignoring the situation and were coming to grips with the fact that now each time Kyoutani sang a love song it was directed at their captain. This was going to be a loooooong year.

**Author's Note:**

> That last bit where I hit Yahaba in the face with a serve was because I felt that he needed to get hit in the face more than once for what he did >_>
> 
> Kyoutani I promise to make your b-day fic pure fluff and humor I wont hurt you on your birthday. I seriously felt so bad when I was doing this ;-;
> 
>  
> 
> You can come yell at me/talk to me on tumblr [@harvestmoonpeoples](http://harvestmoonpeoples.tumblr.com/)


End file.
